


Covenant Encounters of the Ficlet-Series Kind

by amusewithaview



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), The Covenant (2006)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-05
Updated: 2008-01-05
Packaged: 2019-09-22 14:55:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amusewithaview/pseuds/amusewithaview
Summary: A series of ficlets involving the Sunnydale gang and the denizens of Ipswich.





	Covenant Encounters of the Ficlet-Series Kind

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on tthfanfic between 5 Jan 2008 - 30 July 2008.  
> https://www.tthfanfic.org/wholestory.php?no=15170#chapter1

###  1\. I had a dream...

A/N: We'll see where this goes, I don't want to write a full-length crossover, just some little scenes. Eventually involving ALL the scoobs (hopefully). I'm also using this as an opportunity to practice different styles, so yeah, this might be a little weird.

☻▬☻▬☻

"Giles, I had the _weirdest_ dream last night."

"A Slayer dream?"

"No, a nice fun dream about me, some whipped cream, and David Boreanaz - of _course it was a Slayer dream_! Heh heh, um, you can stop cleaning your glasses now. I was just yanking your librarian chain, Watcher-mine."

"Yes, erm, quite."

"Well?"

"Well what? Buffy _do_ kindly stop sitting on the tables, it's not what they're there for."

"Then what _are_ they here for?"

"Studying."

"... Giles, I've barely gone to this school for a little over three months now and in that time I've seen _three_ , count 'em, _three_ people voluntarily entering your little kingdom-of-the-books. Do you know who these people are?"

"You, me, and Willow?"

"Psh, no, we're a given. _I_ was talking about Jenny Calendar, Xander, and Cordelia. One's only in here to oogle your tweedy manliness, one comes for the donuts and as-kickage and the third... actually, I don't _know_ why Cordelia keeps popping up."

"Ah, yes. I take your point. You may sit on the tables - "

"Yes! Score one for the Slayer!"

" - only after all of your _own_ studying is done."

"... Poop, just when I think some of the tweediness has gone away - BAM! - you unveil a whole new of tea-drinking Britishyness."

"Yes, I'm quite a complex man - "

"Nah, I'd just say you're still overly-dressed for California's warmer climate. It's really no wonder you're so stuffy - not that there's anything wrong with that! I mean lots of women like... stuffed... men... Um, I'll just be shutting up now."

"Erm, quite... back to your Slayer dream?"

"Well, there was a bunch of flickery purplish light all around this uber-hot boy with nice spikey hair and deep brown eyes and then he started fighting with this _other_ uber-hot guy with spikey _blond_ hair and dreamy _blue_ eyes. It was like a buffet of uber-hot martial-magic-arts-fighting stuff. There were balls of flame and some burning-of-barns, it really wasn't pretty - aside from the uber-hot. Then there was this whole weird flash-back effect and I saw this chick walking up some prep-school steps lookin' mighty pissed and..."

"... And?"

"She looked, I dunno, sorta familiar? Not like someone I've actually _seen_ seen, but she kind of felt like... like maybe one of the girls I sometimes see when I dream about the other Slayers. The ones who died before me."

"Indeed? What did she look like?"

"Dark brown hair, a little taller than me, she looked wicked ticked. Then again, I would be too if I had to wear that tacky uniform. Ties and plaid skirts? So Britney Spears, so _yesterday_!"

"Thank you Buffy, for that riveting critique of academy-authorized clothing."

"Hey, you asked me to tell you about my dream."

"I did indeed, thank you. So this girl, she felt like another Slayer? Was she a past Slayer? Did she seem to come from another era... maybe if we put you in a trance you might remember more det - "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa - who said anything about trancing out? You think this girl could be the next Slayer? Like, my replacement? The chick who comes after me? The _next_ One Girl?"

"Possibly, or she might be, as you said, one of the past Slayers you occasionally dream about. Was there anything else you remember? Any words or writing you may have seen?"

"There was a book, I think it was 'The Book of the Damned.' Not light reading, if you ask me. Plus... there was some crappy-quality voice-over stuff... a 'cove of ants'? I dunno, something like that. You're the Watcher, you figure it out!"

"A cove of ants... a cove of ants... cove-of-ants... the Covenant!"

"Yeah, I think that might be it."

"Let me see here, there's a prophecy _somewhere_ in the Melas Codex..."

" _Another_ prophecy? I hate prophecies."

"Ah, here it is: _And lo, the Covenant shall be broken. As the fifth line wanes so shall evil's influence, the Power to be Used for good in a new vessel tested by the dark but not yet overcome. The second Slayer shall be set free and she shall bring a new Golden Age for the Covenant. 'Ware the breaking, for it shall be a sign of the End of All Barriers_."

"The 'second Slayer,' huh? Well that's obviously not me. Thanks anyways Giles, I've gotta head to history. We got a test on the history of the Salem Witch-Hunts. Honestly, who cares about that stuff anymore anyways? I mean it's not like it's at all relevent, except for the whole forces-of-dark thing, and maybe the voodoo-creepy thing..."

"Buffy.... Buffy! Foolish, headstrong girl... 'tested by the dark but not _yet_ overcome'? Well that's certainly comforting. The 'second' Slayer? Twoddle. Maybe Buffy's right, maybe this 'stuff' doesn't matter anymore... Hold on a second - Melas is Salem backwards! The Salem witch-hunts.. purple lightning... the Covenant?! Oh bugger..."

☻▬☻▬☻

A/N: The 'second Slayer' is FAITH... ignore the existence of Kendra, please.

###  2\. Coke For The Cute (Part One)

A/N: I like Kit, even if she only appeared in one episode... she was cool.

☻▬☻▬☻

There was a muffled, but distinct _thud_ as cheap red plastic basket met wooden table top. The sullen-looking server ignored the shocked looks from three of Ipswich's elite, delivering her message with lips firmly turned down at the corners.

"Cheeseburger. Fries. _Mustard_ instead of _ketchup_ to go with them. Enjoy," her tone implied that she hoped they did anything but. She turned to walk away, combat-boot clad foot poised to make that first step when one of Nicky's long-time patrons recovered from his shock.

"Where's my coke?" Reid asked with a small, viscious smirk.

The girl turned, flashing sullen brown eyes at him before shuffling through her apron-fannypack-thing for a small pad of paper and inspecting it dutifully. "You didn't order a coke."

"Sure I did, _sweetheart_."

"No you didn't, _asshole_."

The blonde's eyebrows rose dramatically, "Nicky know you talk to paying customers that way?"

The waitress bared her teeth at him, her eyes glinting oddly, "Look buddy - "

"Whoa, whoa, calm down now everybody." Pogue put his hands out, one to each teen, looking to ward off the possibility that the girl might leap over the table and throttle his friend - as was becoming more likely with each consecutive comment that passed his sneering lips.

Reid sat back, looking off toward the pool table. "I ordered a coke," he muttered quietly.

Apparently not quietly enough. The girl growled angrily, a low purr in the back of her throat that made the three boys start in surprise. Abruptly the noise cut off as she shut her eyes and visibly counted to ten. When she looked at them again her eyes were hazel, almost blue.

"A coke, right? Was that all?"

"Yeah..." Reid answered slowly.

"Ok," she flashed an insincere smile, "It'll be right out." She stomped off through the dancing teens and drinking adults, ignoring the three pairs of eyes that burned into her back until she was out of sight.

"What the hell was that?"

" _That_ was Reid being a major asshole, Tyler."

"Not that," the brunette shook his head impatiently, "I meant her _eyes_ man, did you see what she did?"

"Besides totally fucking up a simple order?" Reid piped in.

"Shut up Reid, you didn't order a coke the first time and you know it. What did you see, baby boy?" Pogue leaned forward, listening intently. Tyler didn't speak up often but he was the most observant of the Sons, often surpassing even Caleb's inherent mother-hen radar.

"When she was pissed her eyes were brown, when she calmed down they were bluish. That's not normal, right? I mean..." He trailed off but all of them knew what he meant, ever since the incident at the beginning of the school year they'd been on their guards. Researching in the Book and finding that strange incidents were more common around their times of ascension hadn't comforted any of them.

"Lots of people's eyes change color with their emotions," the waitress interrupted, not quite slamming the coke onto the table. She rolled her eyes at their identical startled looks, "What? It doesn't take _that_ long to grab a coke from the back. And it's not polite to talk about people behind their backs."

"We'll keep that in mind," Pogue smiled at her, "Thanks for the coke, I think that'll be all for us, can you grab the tab..." He paused as he read her nametag, inconveniently placed high on her collar instead of at eye level on her breast-pocket, "...Kit?"

She squinted at the long-haired boy suspiciously, "You pay at the front." Unspoken was the rather obvious fact that he should know how to pay, he was at the bar more often than she was and he didn't even work there!

"Right. Thanks."

"Whatever," she headed to her next table, firmly putting the four boys out of her head, unaware that she would plague them for many months to come...

☻▬☻▬☻

A/N: Pogue is hot, Reid's an ass, and Tyler sees all... this is part one of a two-part arc, though the second bit might come after a few more in-between chapters. Start requesting Covenant FFA pairings, y'all!

###  3\. I never...

☻▬☻▬☻

"Alright, I've got one," Tyler grinned mischievously. He was just buzzed enough to be a little silly, but not quite smashed yet. Considering the game they were playing and the present company, this was definitely something of an accomplishment.

Reid twisted in his seat, turning from his unsuccessful flirting with the redheaded slayer to his friend. "Well, what is it?" He smiled lazily, "Spill it baby boy."

Bright blue eyes widened in anticipation as the youngest Son regarded his roomate watchfully from beneath long lashes. "Well Reid," he drawled slowly in an amusingly accurate approximation of his friend's usual tone, " _I've_ never kissed a vampire."

"Motherfucker," the blonde muttered, pouring himself a shot and downing it. All the while throwing Tyler resentful looks as the others giggled or - depending on their current state of sobriety - outright belly laughed.

A slender hand reached past Reid's and took the bottle, pouring a shot that was downed just as quickly as his had been. All eyes were wide and laughter shushed as Dawn rolled her shoulders, making her customary 'yucky' face at the taste of the cheap vodka.

Vi was the first to speak, words chosen carefully, "Dawnie is, um, there something you'd like to tell us?" She glanced over at Rona, their partner-in-crime for this ice breaking event. "I mean, we'd never tell Buffy but... you - you - "

"Did you and Spike swap spit?" Alcohol had loosened Rona's tongue and only exacerbated her tendency to tell it as she saw it, a trait oddly reminiscent of one late Anya Jenkins. The black girl was grinning broadly at the thought of having something over her Watcher: blackmail material was always a commodity when one lived in a household of mostly girls. Though their recent relocation to Ipswich as sort of 'ambassadors' to the warlock families had reduced the number of females-sharing-bathrooms to three, habit died hard.

"Spike? No!" Dawn sneered, then paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "I _so_ had a crush on him up until I was like, fifteen. But when a guy's boffing your sister..." she shuddered delicately and expressively.

The four Sons, plus Kate and Sarah, watched this exchange with varying degrees of amusement and disbelief. They'd met the 'envoys' with healthy amounts of suspicion, already present and reinforced after their encounter with Chase. Slowly, they were warming to the girls, and Reid in particular seemed to view the shy-but-supernaturally-strong Vi as a personal challenge.

"So if it wasn't Spike, and we _know_ it wasn't Angel... Oh my god! You kissed an _unsouled_ vampire?!" Vi squealed and clutched her hands convulsively around her shot glass - made of an extra-durable spell-reinforced plastic specially designed for slayer use. Faith's present to the girls before 'sending them off into the world'.

Dawn tunneled a hand through her hair and sighed explosively, inspecting the eight sets of eyes trained on her avidly, "You guys really want to hear about this?" Eight heads nodded in solemn pantomime. "It was in my freshman year, I snuck out with a friend on Halloween to hook up with these two guys - "

"Oh, Halloween, that makes sense," Rona said, slightly mollified.

"Wait, Halloween? How does _that_ make sense?" Sarah asked, confused.

"None of the creepy-crawly nasty stuff comes out on Halloween, they think it's tacky. Now anyways, we went out to this park and - "

"Did the nasty?" Reid supplied helpfully.

"Ew, no. We went swinging for a while, then we smashed some pumpkins - "

"You little rebel, you!"

"Shut up Reid," Pogue growled. Unwrapping one arm from about Kate he waved a hand loftily, "Continue." He had a few lingering bruises and Kate was still rather pale, but overall the encounter with Chase had done little to damage the two, and had in fact made their relationship all the stronger.

"So yeah, we..." Dawn paused, staring down at her shot glass as she forced the memories through the blur of alcohol coating her system. "The guy who's pumpkins we were smashing invited us in."

"Shit," Rhona stiffened, "Did they?"

The brunette nodded sadly, "Yeah. I didn't connect the dots until a few days later when they - they found the body." She reached for the vodka and downed another shot, ignoring the taste for the hope of the numbness. "Anyways, after we left we headed back out to the park and um," she blushed.

"Did the nasty?" Reid supplied helpfully.

Caleb smacked the blonde on the back of the head, none-too-gently. "Pray continue, good lady." Sarah snuggled into his side, his friends all alive and well, he was in a good mood and nothing the idiot Son said would bust him out of it.

"We made out, in the park, then Buffy found us."

"Oooh," Vi winced, "That had to suck... uh, no pun intended."

"Yeah," Dawn leaned back in her chair and smiled at the ceiling, "First time I ever got a lecture in front of the enemy. Not the last though. Anyways, there were a bunch more vamps using the park and defying the whole 'no hunting on Halloween' thing. They thought they were badass." She rolled her eyes, "Minions."

"So Buffy slayed, the day was saved, and you got a weird-funny-creepy story for your kiddies." Rhona topped off her glass and waved it to the Watcher in a silent toast, "Sounds like an average day in the life of a Scooby."

"Makin' out with a vampire is average for you girls?" Reid eyed Vi even more lasciviously, if that were possible. "You sure do lead some inter'esting lives."

"S'not _average_ ," Vi mused. "Let's see: Buffy boffed Spike and Angel, so I guess that counts as two. Dawn kissed Mister Unsoulful, so that's three. Anybody else?"

"I don't think so..." Rhona smirked, "Looks like the Summers sisters are unique. Again."

"Whatever," Dawn muttered, "Who's got the next one?"

"Well," Kate leaned forward, brown eyes twinkling mischievously, " _I've_ never..."

☻▬☻▬☻

###  4\. How To Save A Life

Characters: Cassie, Reid

☻▬☻▬☻

She watched him while he bounced a small red rubber ball off the floor and wall of his room. Throw, bounce, bounce, catch, repeat. His eyes weren't even open.

"My life is sort of depressing."

He paused, motion arrested for one brief moment before he dropped his arm, rubber ball loosely gripped in his fingers. "You're _dead_ , blondie."

She sighed, blowing her multi-colored bangs over her cheeks. "Fine. My _death_ is sort of depressing."

"You get to spend it with me," Reid grinned winningly.

"Oh thank you, great one. My unlife has joy again."

Throw, bounce, bounce, catch, stop. "You don't have to be sarcastic."

"Sure I do, it's like when firefighters set a little fire to try and stop a bigger one. My commentary is my only protection from the overwhelming joke that is your life."

He sat up and glared at the pearly luminescent form hovering a foot above his desk. "My life is _not_ a joke."

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it _is_."

"No, it's _not_."

"Joke."

"Not."

" _Joke_."

" _Not_."

"Absolutely laughable. See? This is me laughing." Her giggles were a bit forced, not that Reid noticed. He was visibly restraining himself, pale cheeks tingeing pink faintly as his blue eyes crackled with temper.

Throw, CRASH.

"Huh, you gonna fix that?"

His eyes flared black as the bathroom mirror repaired itself, jaw working silently as the tiny shards fused into one whole piece. Abruptly he relaxed, flopping back down on the bed with his eyes closed he raised up one hand and the red rubber ball flew through the air, though not before making a short stop to swirl through Cassie's torso.

"Oh thanks, _real_ mature."

"Why is my life a joke?"

Cassie paused for a minute or so, just long enough for him to crack open his lids to study her, but not quite enough time for him to get fed up and interrupt. "You want the list?"

Rid shut his eyes again. "Not really, but you're gonna tell me eventually whether I want it or not. Opinionated wench," he muttered.

Ignoring his last uncomplimentary remark, the girl began ticking points off with her fingers. "Ok, here goes: you don't have any plans for the future - "

"I got time!"

" - you abuse your Powers - "

"Only for little stuff!"

" - you don't have any meaningful relationships - "

"Hey! I got friends!"

" - with the opposite sex," she eyed him meaningfully.

"That's not fair." Reid grinned lasciviously, "Some of those girls mean a whole lot to me."

"You're almost eighteen, rich, handsome, smart, magically talented, and you haven't ever really _done_ anything. Reid, do you really think you can always go on like you are now? That's not how it works. Karma's not just a bitch, it's the way the world _works_ , believe me - I'm in a position to know."

He sat up, bouncing the ball against the floor. "What do you _want_ me to do?"

"Make a difference, change a life, _matter_."

"Well, what do you care?"

Her misty eyes turned sad, "You don't want to waste the time you have, Reid. You never know when it's gonna run out." Cassie chuckled harshly, "Unless you grew up me, in which case you know exactly _when_ , and you can't do anything about it."

Reid shifted uncomfortably, anger diverted by his ghostly friend's sadness. "Sorry, Cass."

"It's not your fault. I just don't want you to waste what you got."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He stood and stretched, letting the red rubber ball fall to the ground and roll under the bed. "Me an' the guys are goin' to Nicky's tonight. See you later?"

"Maybe," she shrugged listlessly, "I don't know when _my_ time here will be up."

Reid nodded and headed for the door, paused, then turned around. His eyes were troubled and he didn't look directly at her. "I'll think about what you said, Cass." He grinned and hummed the opening bars of _How to Save a Life_ , "Gotta _matter_ , I guess, don't I?"

Cassie smirked as the door clicked shut, wiggling happily on the desk. Her eyes flicked up to the ceiling, ignoring the many band posters tacked up and looking beyond. "Mission accomplished," she whispered as her form began to dissipate, "I'll miss the little prick, though."

☻▬☻▬☻

###  5\. Loosen Up

Characters: Reid, Vi

☻▬☻▬☻

"Whatcha readin'?"

"Watcher diaries."

"What're those?"

"Records of past slayers, their lives and deaths and the little bit in between."

"Sounds dull and depressing."

"No and yes."

"So why read it?"

"What do you mean, why read it?"

"It's depressing. Why spend time indoors on this beautiful Friday _night_ reading musty old books written by stuffy British guys about dead girls?"

"Dead _slayers_."

"Ok, dead _slayers_."

"You really don't get it, do you."

"Obviously."

" _I'm_ a slayer."

"Freakishly strong, stunningly attractive short girl with a destiny. Yup, with you so far."

" _They_ were slayers."

"Yeah, so?"

"Don't you have some hereditary book you're supposed to read when you get your powers? The Book of Damnation? I know Caleb was talking about it with Dawn..."

"Didn't read it."

"Why?"

"It was dull _and_ depressing."

".... You're not going to go away, are you?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Because you're too pretty to be sitting indoors on this lovely Friday night, reading about long-dead girls whose life stories don't really apply to you."

"How does it not apply to me? Did you miss my whole slayer-is-me logic thing?"

"I heard. There's one big difference between _them_ and _you_ though."

"What's that?"

"You're not alone. So let's go _do_ something... Vi, put the book down."

"No."

"Fine..."

"Hey! Give it back!"

"Relax, I didn't even lose your place."

"You're not supposed to use your powers like that."

"Gonna tattle?"

"Don't make me hurt you."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh really?"

"I'm human."

"That's debatable."

"Come on Vi, loosen up, have some fun. You got a lot of livin' to do."

"You _so_ just paraphrased a cheesy sixties musical."

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###  6\. Deserving

Characters: Keira, Lorne, mentions of others

☻▬☻▬☻

_Bastard!_

They'd never been exclusive, but then they'd never really ever had what could be called 'meaningful relationships'. Just fuck buddies, or even one-night stands. He went through the new girls and freshmen like a nail through tissue paper and she 'conquered' the hard-to-get that existed in the upper echelons of their prep school and the others surrounding.

_Asshole!_

Now he was off making an idiot of himself over Sarah Wenham. _Sarah-fucking-Wenham!_ The public-school bitch who'd had the everlasting _gall_ to accomplish what she, Keira had never managed to do: catch Caleb Danvers interest.

_Fucker!_

The blonde twat had had Caleb - _Caleb_ \- in her grasp in just one _week_ , and then she'd just dropped him cold four days after the Fall Festival. Now all the guys were flocking to her, drawn by the mystery her little fling had drawn around her. They were all pawns anyways, but then Aaron - _her_ Aaron - had joined the chase.

And he'd actually managed to catch her!

Now that prick was strutting around the school, shepherding her from class to class, playing the solicitous boyfriend - a new role, to be sure - and lapping up every stray glare the Sons shot his way like a cat enjoying a particularly satisfying bowl of cream.

_Son of a bitch!_

He'd dropped her. Publicly. All because of that stupid little towheaded piece of white-trash public school _shit_. It was all her fault. It was her fault that Caleb was even _less_ interested in the girls of Spencer Academy than he had been. Her fault that Aaron was no longer available for a quick screw. Her fault that Keira's own stock had plummeted.

And it was _definitely_ her fault that Keira had snuck into this bar using a fake ID.

It was a weird place: the people were weird, the decor was weird, the whole atmosphere... it was just weird. Then a guy - with _green skin_? or was that just really bad make-up? - walked onto the stage and began to sing karaoke. Badly.

All Sarah-fucking-Wenham's fault.

A few drinks later, she was more than ready to find someone to go home with, better yet: someone to _sing_ with. Keira toddled up onto the stage and looked around for a word prompter or some other piece of karaoke equipment. Unable to find anything she shrugged and staggered up to the mike and proceeded to belt out an exceedingly off-key rendition of _Bitch_ by Meredith Brooks.

When finished, or at least when she had run out of semi-appropriate words to sing, she stumbled off the stage and into the lap of another man with bad makeup. This one even had some sort of horn-looking hat thing on his head!

He smiled down at her, looking somewhat pained. "Don't worry, you'll get everything you want and more. You'll get exactly what you deserve, moptop."

Though she wouldn't remember the bar, or the singing, the next morning Keira woke with the sense that everything was as it should be. Somehow she knew she'd get everything she'd ever wanted, and everything she deserved too.

A comforting thought... for a shallow mind.

☻▬☻▬☻

###  7\. Coke For the Cute (Part Two)

Characters: Reid, Kit, assorted BtVS

☻▬☻▬☻

"Hello gorgeous," Reid smiled.

Willow looked round, "Me?"

"Yeah, you. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Uh, that would be, um - what I mean to say is - "

"Keep walkin' hotstuff." Reid's brows lifted almost to his hairline at the slender brunette who sidled up beside the redhead and draped an arm possessively over her shoulders. "She's with me."

Not quite ready to give up, he grinned. " _With_ you with you or just with you?"

The brunette tilted the redhead's face down for a long, enthusiastic kiss. Instead of breaking apart, they continued to be locked at the mouth. Reid was content to watch when a familiar and unwelcome voice interrupted his, erm, _thoughts_.

"I think they answered your question, bub. Why don't you go back to your friends?"

Reid smiled benignly at the hostile waitress, "Everybody's my friend at Nicky's."

"Except me," Kit bared her teeth at him.

"Except you," the blonde agreed before putting on his trademark 'you know you wanna' smile. "That could change though, sweetheart. I'm a nice sort of guy, we could be _friends_."

The ex-Sunnydaler eyed him scornfully, a little smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "You couldn't handle my _friendship_. I'd break you like a plate at a Greek wedding." There was that grin again, full of white teeth and predatory promise, "Get back to your _friends_ , Reid, and leave mine alone."

At that the redhead broke away from her girlfriend, "Kit?" Her green eyes went wide with delight, "How are you? Dawn said you'd be here, but sometimes she gets her weeks wrong and you've been moving around so much lately that it was hard to keep track. Have you finally settled down? What's this place like? Do you enjoy your new job? When are you going to come visit again? Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"That's my baby," Kennedy smirked, "Great breath control."

☻▬☻▬☻

###  8\. Hard Truths

Characters: Buffy, Sarah

☻▬☻▬☻

"I don't _like_ this."

Buffy frowned and counted to ten. In Greek. " _Learn_ to like it."

The mini-slay shivered in the air-conditioned work out room and looked as if she wanted to cry. Her grip on her practice sword was loose and reluctant, as if the weapon was some vile creature that would soon turn on her and bite. She was as out-of-place here as Faith would be in a convent, and yet...

"You were Called, Sarah. You have the abilities, you _have_ to have _training_."

"Why?" The blonde began to pace, throwing her sword to the ground and showing more energy in her rant than Buffy had been able to draw out of her in three days of training. " _Why_ do I have to know how to kill vampires and demons? I don't _want_ to be a slayer, you said I had a _choice_ \- "

"You do have a choice, but just because you're not active doesn't mean that it's going to go away! You - are - a - _slayer_. You might not be one girl in all the world, but you're still a girl against the forces of darkness and while you might not be looking for a fight with them, _they will be looking for you_! And they are faster, stronger, and more equipped than you will be because _they_ will be choosing the battlefield. _You_ won't be able to choose your battles but you will _damn_ well know how to fight them or _I - will - know - why!_ "

The tears that had been threatening began to drip slowly down Sarah Wenham's face.

But she nodded.

And picked up her sword.

☻▬☻▬☻

###  9\. Pool Playa

Characters: Dawn, Sarah, Sons

For **Melli** who requested Dawn.

☻▬☻▬☻

Sarah looked around Nicky's and beamed when she spotted a familiar head of messy black hair: her boyfriend and two of the other three Sons, sitting at a table and upping the hotness quotient of the room a good thirty points. She headed towards them, ignoring the weak complaints of the person she dragged behind her.

"Guys, this is my cousin, Dawn!"

Caleb was the first to greet her: "Hi, visiting?"

She scowled, "No."

"Um, Dawn's father lives around here and he - "

"Fought with my mom for custody so he could make me go to some dumb prep school. No offense, Sarah, I know you really _wanted_ to come here." The slender brunette flashed her cousin a fond smile, "It's nice to be able to spend more time with you, it's just - "

"You miss home," Caleb finished.

"Yeah, kinda. Anyways..." She shook her head, "So this is your boyfriend?"

Sarah nodded and smiled, slipping an arm around Caleb's waist. "Yeah." She looked up at him, he down at her and Dawn could practically _see_ the sparkage. They were sickeningly sweet and they hadn't even said five words to each other.

"Nauseating, aren't they?"

Dawn turned and her eyes widened, "Yeah. Um, whoa. You look - "

"Devilishly handsome?"

" - a _lot_ like one of my sister's ex-boyfriends."

Reid smirked, "Sounds like your sister's got good taste."

Dawn choked and Sarah had to pound on her back. "Erm, not really," she gasped out once she'd gotten her breath back. "My sister's taste runs towards the psychotic, not that I think you're crazy! Actually the guy she dated who looked like you used to be my babysitter."

"Babysitter? Wow, that's a sexy job, Reid - you should look into it. I'm Pogue, by the way."

Pink rose in Dawn's cheek as she saw the long-haired Son for the first time. "It's - uh - very nice to meet you. I'm Dawn, Dawn Summers. Sarah's cousin from California."

"Where's Tyler?" Sarah asked, "I want him to meet you."

Reid shrugged, "Probably waiting by the pool table, we were gonna play." He smirked at the willowy brunette, "You know how to play pool, Dawn? I could show you how to... chalk a stick."

Pogue frowned and Caleb grinned at his friend's annoyance, an idea beginning to form in his mind.

Dawn rolled her eyes at the blonde Son's crude innuendo, "I know my way around a pool table, Reid."

"Well since Dawn already knows how to play and Tyler's waiting, why don't you four play doubles? Sarah and I can order the food and we'll let you know when it's ready," Caleb shooed the three towards the waiting tables, ignoring his girlfriend's curious look.

"Be my partner?" Dawn turned puppy-eyes on Pogue, "Save me from bad flirting?"

He grinned, "My pleasure."

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###  10\. Shut Up and Drive!

Characters: Buffy, Caleb

For **ChloeWinchester** who requested Buffy/Caleb.

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"You want to drive?"

"I don't know..." Buffy bit her lip, "Me and cars tend to be non-mixy things."

"You've been lusting after my car for a week."

"I have not!" She fisted her hands on her hips and turned to the smirking brunette with a scowl. "That is _so_ not true! I have not been _lusting_ after your car! I - I just appreciate its shiny silvery - "

"Buffy," Caleb interrupted her meandering defense gently, "If you looked at another guy the way you've been looking at my car, I'd have to kill him. Painfully."

"You would not..." The blonde slayer trailed off at the heated look in Caleb's melted chocolate eyes. "Really?" She coughed, "I mean, that's awful! You can't just go hurting people because - "

"You're my _girlfriend_ , Buffy Anne Summers," he growled, sweeping her up so they were eye-to-eye and her feet hung a foot above the ground. " _I'm_ the only one with a pulse you can use that look on."

"Oh really?" Buffy grinned, "So I can lust after all the vamps I - "

He cut her off in a way that was mutually satisfying for both of them and left no room for doubt in regards to her question. Caleb frowned when she pushed her hands against his shoulders, breaking away to fix him with a faint frown and pout. "What?"

"I can _not_ believe you just _middle named_ me!"

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it?"

Buffy leaned in towards him until her breath ghosted over his lips, brushing her cheek over his jaw line until she reached his ear to nip at the skin beneath. One hand reached around to play with the hair at the nape of his neck, the other sliding down towards his the front of his jeans.

She whispered in his ear, making sure each movement of her lips had her touching his sensitive skin, "What am I gonna do?" Buffy grinned and delicately pulled away to leap to the ground, twirling the keys she'd lifted from his pocket around one finger. She put a hand on her hip and tapped her lip thoughtfully with the finger that held his keys, "Well... I guess I'm gonna drive."

The look Caleb aimed her way had her repressing a shiver. He took a deep breath and spoke through clenched teeth, "You better drive fast, and we better be headed for your place."

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###  11\. Anything?

Characters: Willow, Pogue

For **fal** who requested Willow/Pogue.

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Willow grinned as her student's eyes glowed with a pure white light. When at last they cleared to reveal his usual amber green, she couldn't help but squeal and throw her arms around him.

"You did it! You finally did it!"

"Finally?" He grinned at her, flashing the dimples that never failed to give her the belly-rumblin's. "What do you mean, _finally_? You'd think I was slow or something."

"Oh! No, no, no! That's not what I meant at all! I'm just so excited that you got it and this means that you won't die young and now the curse isn't really a curse at all and aren't you excited! This is exciting!" She wriggled in his arms like an overeager puppy, missing the way his eyes darkened with something far more dangerous than magic. Willow leaned back to beam up at him, "You can do anything you want now, Pogue."

"Really?" He widened his eyes comically, " _Anything_?"

"Anything," she nodded. Then it was her turn for wide eyes when his lips pressed against hers. He was warm and soft and she found herself leaning into him while his arms locked around her and pulled her close.

Minutes later Pogue pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers. He watched her lids flutter before opening fully to reveal dazed hazel eyes. "Been wanting to do that for _months_."

"Months?" Willow squeaked. "I mean - um, that was a _bad_ \- " Her eyes drifted back to his mouth and she licked her lips unconsciously. "You - you're barely legal! I'm practically Mrs. Robinson," she murmured plaintively.

"You're twenty-four, not forty-four," Pogue replied patiently. "Wait... Mrs. Robinson _slept_ with _her_ younger man," he eyed her hopefully.

"Pig."

Pogue leaned in and rubbed his nose in her long red hair, "Oink oink."

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###  12\. Anything? Part Two

Characters: Faith, Pogue, mentions of Dawn

For **Susangel** who requested Faith. After the gooeyness of the last few chapters I needed to do something different so... no pairing this time! Sorry.

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"Nice bike. Ducati?"

"Yeah."

"Shame about the color, though."

"Ye - what?"

"Yellow? C'mon."

Pogue frowned, "I like yellow."

"I like periwinkle blue, but I ain't puttin' it on the road."

He shrugged stiffly, "It's my bike."

"Yeah, but other people gotta look at it too."

"Faith? Are you done messing with Willow's new boyfriend?"

"In a minute, Dawnie. Pretty-boy, you break Willow's heart and I'll break _you_. Then I'll paint your bike a _real_ motorcycle color. Maybe green or somethin'..."

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